


The second dance

by ChocoNut



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, F/M, Fluff, No more twincest, first meeting sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26141014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoNut/pseuds/ChocoNut
Summary: At Brienne's name day celebration, there is one other guest who attends the feast at the behest of his father. She does dance with Renly, but has much more in store for her as the evening unfolds.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 18
Kudos: 103





	The second dance

**Author's Note:**

> A little something that just struck me.  
> Thank you for reading and I hope you like it!

_Renly Baratheon, my saviour, my knight in shining armour._

She couldn’t help stealing covert glances at him. Of all the young lords gathered there, he was the only one who—

“That was one hell of a dance you had with him.”

Staggering out of her solitary musings, Brienne turned to face the owner of the voice. To her dismay, it was the last person she wanted to run into, that too, after all that she had been through this rough evening. “Ser Jaime,” she coldly acknowledged him. “To what do I owe your company? Have you come here to ask me for the next dance?” She frowned, still irked by the nasty joke she almost became. “Are you here to mock me like they did—” 

“Pray, no.” Jaime stepped forward. “While we have been party to a brief meeting before, I never quite had the opportunity to meet you properly, my lady—”

“I’m no lady,” she snapped back, hoping that might push him away. She could never forget the condescending look he’d given her when her father had introduced him to her two years back. Such disdain, such revulsion, his was an opinion worse than Red Ronnet’s even.

“Oh, you are.” He stepped closer, green eyes dancing with so much she couldn’t fathom. “The purpose of this dance is to find you a suitable husband—”

“Is that what you’re here for?” she couldn’t help asking, wondering why was he even here. Surely a newly anointed knight who happened to be one of the most handsome lords in all the seven kingdoms couldn’t have sailed to her island in the quest of a wife. 

“That’s what my father sent me here for,” he admitted, a faraway look in his eyes.

If rumours were to be believed, he had expressed a wish to join the Kingsguard, his decision incurring his father’s wrath and sister’s delight. If the scandalous stories about him had even the tiniest bit of truth in them, she wouldn’t put it past him to defy Lord Tywin and stand by his decision. Why, then, had he bothered to come here all the way?

“I did, when I left home, have the sole intention to pacify my father,” he said, as if he’d read her mind.

Her eyes darted across the hall to Renly who was deep in conversation with her father. She was itching to get away from Jaime and back to someone who valued her presence. “What do you propose to achieve if you’re not interested—”

“I’ve been trying to make up my mind all evening, to decide if I’m interested or not.”

His reply pulled her eyes off her handsome savior. “You jest,” she countered in disbelief. “All you had was disdain for me when we first met—”

“First impressions do not often last forever, Brienne,” he stated thoughtfully. “I do admit I wasn’t exactly taken in by you—”

“Taken in?” She couldn’t believe he could soften it like that. “Your eyes were full of nothing but—”

“I was curt and I regret it now.”

Brienne opened her mouth to say something harsh, but held herself in time. She wanted to _not believe_ him so badly, but his explanation was slowly weaning her away from her determination. Of course, there was still his beautiful sister. There was nothing he desired more than her, or so, she’d heard. “I thought you love—”

“—the way you wield a sword,” Jaime complimented, his charming smile lighting up the hall. “I’ve seen you sneak out at dawn and practice, my lady.”

Brienne felt herself go red. “If you’re being critical of me again—”

“I’m not.” Earnest and sincere, those green eyes were. “You have the makings of a talented swordswoman in you. With the right training, you might, one day, make a good warrior—” he took another step closer “—a knight, even.”

That was going a bit too far, and Brienne searched his gaze, going deep, probing, scanning for deceit and cunning and—but none she could find.

“I must return to the other guests,” she mumbled, knowing not what else to say. Insults, she’d dealt with in plenty, but this—this, she didn’t know what to do with. “Good night, Ser Jaime—” managing a little curtsey, she withdrew “—and I wish you well for—”

She froze, her heart forgetting to beat for a second when he caught her wrist. “Ser—”

“Renly was only being kind to you, Brienne,” he broke it to her gently. “He bears no wish to wed you or—”

“I know.” She wasn’t that naive to believe a man like Renly would fall for someone like her and take her home. “And I also know that you’re not here to seek alliance, either,” she confronted, although surprised that a man who wouldn’t look at any woman but his sister was having this long a chat with her. “You love someone else, Ser Jaime, so it is best for you to return to Casterly—”

“While I thought it to be love, I came to realize it was no more than a deep affection and adoration.” Lowering his voice so only she could hear, he added, “I still love her, though it isn't what people talk about anymore, Brienne.” 

Her wrist was still in his grasp and she suddenly felt dizzy. Was he really here for— But then, he had not yet answered the first question she’d asked. “Why—”

“To ask you for the next dance, as you rightly guessed.” He brought her hand to his lips. “Before Renly does it again. I wanted to be the first, but he got there before me. What do you say to me being your second?” he asked, pressing a gentle kiss to her knuckles. “The music’s still playing. Might I have this dance, my lady?”

Dazed by this unexpected revelation, yet, wanting to believe him, she let him lead her into the midst of the other couples. “I wish I had been the one to rescue you from those idiots,” he whispered, as they fell into line with the remaining dancers. “I should’ve acted sooner. I—”

Before he could finish, the rhythm led him away from her, bringing her face to face with another young man, and Brienne found herself wanting to find him again. 

When she got her wish, she felt a gush of warmth flood her when he twirled her around and held her close. “When this dance is over, what would you tell your father, my lady?” he asked, with a smile that reached the depth of his eyes. “I see him watching us carefully. He would certainly ask you about me.”

A dozen reasons for turning him down circled her head, but none had the conviction to make it to words. “I would tell him I’d think about it,” she murmured, instead, hoping she wasn’t blushing too hard. “And you, ser—” she asked him in return “—what answer do you have for your lord father?”

“I would tell him I’m ready to set out on a new journey,” Jaime whispered in her ear as they crossed each other to switch sides. “I might get lucky one day and find true love.”

A shy smile was all she had for now, for the beat again required her to move to another partner. And as she danced her way along the line, she found herself stealing covert glances at the young knight whose eyes caught hers whenever she looked at him.

Renly was her first, but this dance was slowly turning into something else, altogether.


End file.
